Pubdate: Sat, 15 Jan 2005
Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ)
Copyright: 2005 Pulitzer Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/23
Author: Scott Simonson, Arizona Daily Star
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

OFFICIALS TAKE AIM AT DRUGS DELIVERED VIA MAIL, SHIPPERS

The sour odor of vinegar served as a warning about the two boxes
dropped off for Federal Express pickup at a Midtown store.

Law enforcement officials had watched a man and a woman take the boxes
inside Sonoran Desert Ship and Move Center, 2020 E. Broadway.

The surveillance was part of a growing crackdown on drugs being sent
through the mail, Federal Express, United Parcel Service and other
package delivery services from Tucson, a national hub of marijuana
trafficking.

Estimates say up to 90 percent of the nation's marijuana trade passes
through Arizona.

In this case, after the pair left their boxes for shipping, members of
the Counter Narcotics Alliance, a local multi-agency anti-drug task
force, moved in. They inspected the boxes and smelled something odd,
according to a search warrant obtained Dec. 2 in Pima County Superior
Court.

Drug smugglers sometimes use vinegar to mask the smell of marijuana
they're sending, said Inspector Jim Harper, supervisor of the Tucson
branch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. They also use fabric
softener sheets, coffee and motor oil to try to confuse drug-sniffing
dogs.

This time, Shadow, a drug-sniffing canine, wasn't fooled. The
discovery led to the confiscation of 24 pounds of marijuana.

Members of the Counter Narcotics Alliance seized the boxes and
investigated the people who sent them.

Starting in September, the Counter Narcotics Alliance increased its
emphasis on catching people who are shipping drugs, said Tucson Police
Department Capt. David Neri, commander of the alliance.

In the last four months of 2004, the task force's "box squad" seized
at least 300 parcels, more than 3 tons of marijuana, 6 pounds of
cocaine and a small amount of crack cocaine.

Those seized packages led to 41 arrests, according to Counter
Narcotics Alliance statistics.

"The stuff that comes through Tucson is literally going to every
corner of the country," Neri said.

The task force last year intercepted drug packages headed for at least
47 states, he said.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service increased its staff of Tucson
inspectors from three to seven in 2004, Harper said. He anticipates
more are on the way.

The increased efforts to stop drug dealing through mail and parcel
delivery reflects the prominence of Arizona in the narcotics trade,
said Harper, whose agency works with the Counter Narcotics Alliance
locally, as well as federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and
the Border Patrol.

And drug smugglers, Harper added, have learned what many legitimate
businesses already knew: Express package services are a good deal for
quick shipping, convenient delivery, and help with those urgent
occasions when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.

Neri said the recent crackdown has been helped by local merchants who
own parcel shipping businesses as well as the parcel delivery services
themselves.

"They're pretty much into every carrier," Neri said. "The Postal
Service is no exception."

Several owners of Tucson-area mailing and shipping stores declined to
comment for this story.

They said they feared the use of their names could jeopardize their
safety, because they were helping authorities identify drug shipments.

The local chapter of the Associated Mail & Parcel Centers, a national
trade organization of parcel shipping stores with about 90 members in
Tucson and Phoenix, also declined to comment.

Brandon Gale, national president of the organization, said there's a
great deal of concern about the problem among store owners in the
Tucson area, and many of them are working with law
enforcement.

However, Gale said, none of the local chapter members he contacted
felt safe talking about the problem for a newspaper article.

A sample of recent search warrants revealed some of the tactics that
smugglers use:

A Aoe Disguising drugs as other items: Crock pot and computer boxes
were found to contain marijuana in a Dec. 1 search of a Federal
Express shipping hub in Tucson, according to a search warrant. Harper
said smugglers sometimes take apart an appliance like a stereo, pack
it with marijuana, then re-assemble it.

The search of the FedEx hub uncovered about 54 pounds of marijuana in
packages destined for Alabama, Georgia and New York.

A Aoe Suspicious business dealings: A regular customer at The Postal
Connection, 2968 W. Ina Road, had been shipping packages to New York,
using overnight delivery, paying cash, and shipping just before the
delivery truck made its daily pickup, according to a search warrant
obtained last month.

Counter Narcotics Alliance surveillance of the customer led to the
seizure of a box of marijuana about the size of a microwave oven
before it could be shipped.

A Aoe After the drugs go out, cash comes back: Harper said inspectors
also seize cash and money orders mailed to Tucson as payment for drugs.

He declined to give an exact figure, but said the cash seized locally
totaled in the millions and added, "It's enough to fund the entire
Tucson Police Department budget."

The Tucson police have an operating budget of about $127 million for
the 2005 fiscal year.

Finding the drugs and drug money can be daunting: The U.S. Postal
Service processes about 2 million parcels or letters in Tucson in an
average day, Harper said. Other delivery services like UPS or FedEx
swell the total further.

Drug-sniffing dogs improve the odds for investigators. Neri said drug
packages can lead investigators to those who were shipping the
contraband, and can alert authorities in other states to who may be
receiving drugs.

"Are we making a dent?" Harper said. "I think we are, in terms of
we're making more arrests, serving more warrants."
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MAP posted-by: Derek